(Australian Associated Press)

THE ROAD TO EQUAL PAY

In 2015, Australian women still endure a gender wage gap of 18.8 per cent. This amounts to an extra 59 days of work a year, the government’s Workplace Gender Equality agency says.

1969

– New laws abolish women’s minimum wage being set at 75pct of men’s

1972

– The principle of equal pay for work of equal value is established in law

1973

– Women working in the Commonwealth Public Sector service receive maternity leave entitlements

1974

– The concept of the `family wage’ where men are paid more because they are the “breadwinners” abolished

1975

– South Australia enacts the country’s first sex-discrimination legislation

1983

– Australia ratifies the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

1984

– The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 introduced

1986

– The Affirmative Action Act (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) introduced

1989

– 34 women win a sex discrimination case against Australian Iron and Steel, a subsidiary of BHP

1999

– Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act replaces the Affirmative Action Act

2009

– Fair Work Act defines equal pay as equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value

2011

– First national paid parental leave scheme begins; working parents get 18 weeks pay at the national minimum wage

2012

– Workplace Gender Equality Act passed, replaces Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act

– Dad and Partner Pay Scheme introduced, with two weeks pay at the minimum wage